Higgins: Nearly $2.6 million in federal funding to help WNY health clinics respond to COVID-19

Submitted

Tue, Apr 7th 2020 05:15 pm

Congressman Brian Higgins on Tuesday announced new federal resources to help federally qualified health clinics in Western New York respond to COVID-19. Three local clinics will receive a total of $2,589,795 in new emergency federal funding authorized by the House of Representatives on March 27.

Higgins said, “Our local community health centers are a critical piece of our response to this public health crisis. We need them to be well-funded, well-supplied and well-staffed to ensure that all of our residents have access to care.”

The three health centers operate clinics in Niagara Falls, Cheektowaga, Blasdell, Hamburg, Lockport and various sites in the City of Buffalo.

The allocations are made possible through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The funding can be used to expand screening, purchase supplies and personal protective equipment, broaden education measures, and for other operations.

This funding is in addition to more than $192,000 previously announced for local health clinics provided in the second coronavirus emergency package approved by Congress, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2020.